Converting Creatures from Other Campaign Settings

[freyar]

That'll do.

Does that finish them up?

 

[Cleon]

That'll do.

Updating Tso Working Draft.

Does that finish them up?

Well I did wonder about writing up an "enchant flying ship" collaborative spell, but that seems surplus to requirements.

Apart from that, they've still got a ?? in Level Adjustment.

Adult Neogi are LA +3 according to Lords of Madness or (The Monster Manual II 3.5 update says they're +5, but I'd think the more recent source takes precedent).

I'm inclined to make them "—", mainly because the Tso have too many abilities that are horribly exploitable by players.

I'd be game to consider a high LA if you'd prefer it.

 

[freyar]

I'd be happy with an LA of -.

 

[Cleon]

I'd be happy with an LA of -.

I'll let you be happy.

Finalizing Tso Working Draft with LA: —.

 

[freyar]

Unless we want to do that spell, that's it!

 

[Cleon]

Unless we want to do that spell, that's it!

Well it doesn't seem necessary, but I'd be OK statting it up if you fancy it.

Hmm, let's see...

Enchant Aracheon
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 10 minutes (see below)
Range: Touch
Target: One vehicle with a volume of up to one 10 ft. cube per caster level
Duration: 1 day/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

This powerful spell creates a flying vessel called an aracheon. The target of this spell can be any movable object — usually a ship, but it could be a wagon, juggernaut, sledge, or any other form of transport.

Only tso can use this spell, since casting it requires a group of at least thirteen tso using their cooperative spellcasting ability (see the tso entry for details). It takes 10 minutes to cast enchant aracheon as a standard collaborative spell, or 2 minutes if the tso brood uses the Quicken Spell metamagic feat.

An aracheon can fly at a speed of 40 feet with poor maneuverability, or 30 feet with clumsy maneuverability if the vehicle is heavily armored or carrying a heavy load. The aracheon can also hover, as per the Hover feat, and will hover in midair if left unattended. An aracheon's normal carrying capacity is 500 lbs. per 5 ft. square it occupies; its "heavily loaded" carrying capacity is 1000 lbs. per square.

Any tso who participates in casting enchant aracheon has the potential to pilot the resulting vehicle. The leader of the spellcasting collaboration decides which of the tso in the group can pilot the aracheon. The leader can freely change the list of approved pilots as a standard action. An aracheon's "helm" is a rune that appears identical to an arcane mark. Approved pilots can touch this steering rune and direct the aracheon's movement as a move action. The rune is so small it can only be touched by a single tso. The pilot must use a move action every round to steer the aracheon, if they stop directing the vehicle it will continue on its present course for 1d6 rounds before slowing to a hover.

When the duration of enchant aracheon expires the magic fades slowly. Should the aracheon be aloft, the vehicle floats downward 60 feet per round for 1d6 minutes. If it reaches the ground in that amount of time, it lands safely. If not, it falls the rest of the distance, taking 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet of fall. The aracheon also descends in this way if the enchant aracheon is cancelled by another effect, but not if it is negated by an antimagic field. An enchant aracheon spell cannot be dispelled, but it can be undone by break enchantment, mage's disjunction and similar powers.

The secrets of enchant aracheon are jealously guarded by the tso, who will never reveal it to outsiders.

Permanency: A permanency spell can make enchant aracheon permanent at the cost of 5,000 XP.

 

[freyar]

It should actually be "arachaeon" with an extra "a" in there, based on the original text.

I'd probably specify that this spell could be made permanent. Well, maybe using up collaborative casting on it every few weeks isn't a big deal. What do you think?

 

[Cleon]

It should actually be "arachaeon" with an extra "a" in there, based on the original text.

Dang it. It's not an matter of if needing an extra "a", it's that one of the As slipped when I first typed the name. It should be "aracheon" not "archaeon".

I'd probably specify that this spell could be made permanent. Well, maybe using up collaborative casting on it every few weeks isn't a big deal. What do you think?

Saying it can be made permanent makes sense

We just need to settle on an XP cost for the permanency. It ought to be pretty high. The only 9th level spells listed in the SRD permanency spell entry are prismatic sphere (3500 XP) and teleportation circle (4500 XP). That suggests 4000 XP would be about right for a permanent aracheon.

Updating Enchant Aracheon.

 

[Cleon]

Permanency: A permanency spell can make enchant aracheon permanent at the cost of 4,000 XP [?].

Do you think 4000 XP is enough? a 10 ft. square carpet of flying costs 1200 XP to enchant and has similar functionality but is much smaller. Since the Tso cast as sorcerers, the minimum CL of an enchant aracheon is 18th, for eighteen times the area of the largest flying carpet. What sort of cost-difference does a permanency spell have vis-á-vis a magic item?

Oh, and should we add a "lift capacity" to the aracheon? Maybe 500 pounds of cargo/crew/passengers per 5 ft. square, with the ability to carry up to twice as much at 30 ft.?

 

[freyar]

I think I can go along with that carrying capacity, though it's quite high compared to the flying carpet. I guess it stands to reason that a ship-like thing could carry more than a carpet.

I was trying to find a magic item that does something similar to one of the spells that can be made permanent to compare XP costs, but I'm not finding one right now. But that might help.